As a plant person, I never look forward to winter. No leaves, no flowers, and cold temperatures that keep me locked up inside the house. But the truth is we need winter if we are going to enjoy a beautiful spring. We think things are dead—or at least dormant—for months, […]
December, 1936… Dear Friends, enclosed is a picture of my Cape May cottage to which you are all invited to spend Fourth of July 1937 with me – remain two nights at least. I look forward to your coming with much pleasure indeed. Sincerely, Eleanor B. Gillespie “My mother, Katherine […]
“Looking up from a single shell pocketed on the familiar beach day’s end walk from Jackson to Decatur. On to fetch the bikes.” Beach Day 24×24 Oil on Canvas
As you stroll along the Washington Street Mall, you can’t help but notice a large gold crown hanging above the entrance of a Victorian pewter gray building. Lush greenery spills from the window boxes. This is Queen May, a jewelry store with luxury merchandise. But don’t just peek through the […]
When you’re inspired by interior design, it can be hard not to get swept up in every potential project out there. Whether it’s creating a tranquil bathroom, emulating the design of a boutique hotel, installing built-in cabinetry, or extending your living space with an outdoor oasis, options for well-designed home […]
The City of Cape May’s reach is greater than we think. This quaint island just short of three square miles was assumed to be a secret treasure during decades of exiguous travel access. These postcards, however, reveal a more global reach and may have gone where the senders never had. […]
I can sum up my stay at Beach Plum Farm in a single word: tranquility. Set among 62 acres of pine forests, marshlands, and formal and informal gardens, this West Cape May retreat has a kicked-back elegance that blends homespun comfort with pure indulgence. It’s virtually guaranteed to slow your […]
Before a TV series, it was a video game. Fungus-infected zombies aside, much of the storyline of The Last of Us takes the main characters across a mostly abandoned America where the signs of humanity persist, yet in a faded state, and the absence of humans has an eerie vibe. […]
It doesn’t snow much in Cape May. In fact the last time there was snow on the ground during the holidays was 2010. It capped off the snowiest winter in Cape May history. The winter of 2010 saw 54 total inches of snow, including a 24” blizzard over Super Bowl […]
Christmas is jam-packed with traditions of all kinds. Every family has their own special way of celebrating. In mine, it meant getting out the good china, putting on our best bib and tucker, and enjoying a delicious meal that my parents made together complete with a nice bottle of wine. […]
Sign Me Pretty has officially been a business for three years now. “But we’d been doing things for friends and family since a few years prior, and honestly have always had a craft going on since we had kids in 2015,” said Ember Loefflad, half of the husband-and-wife team at […]
Many popular carols sung at Christmas in America were first published during the Victorian era (1837-1901), marked by the reign of Queen Victoria of England. This period in America, of course, included the Civil War (1861-1865), the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), and the passage of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery (1865). […]
Fred Ascoli lives the life that many people who fall in love with Cape May have only romanticized. Like most native residents, his relationship with the ocean and his understanding of its ever-changing personality began as a child. By the time he was a teenager, he was out to sea […]
Eastern Screech Owls are widespread throughout most of eastern North America, and there are quite a few pairs in the Cape May woodlands. Of course, you would not know it as they only come out after dark and are so rarely seen. About eight inches long, or cardinal-sized, they are […]
It was one of those steamy August nights, in a town teeming with visitors with parking at full capacity. Reginald and I had a later evening reservation at one of the new additions to Cape May’s restaurant scene, Maison Bleue Bistro. It’s classically French, right down to the background music, […]
Among the many talented cover bands and solo artists in the South Jersey area, a musical arrangement of almost 60 people makes for a powerful performance in a small town. I mean, isn’t that a decent chunk of Cape May’s population? The John Walter Band is a Cape May County […]
The magic of Christmas comes from the compassion of the community.
Talk about a reality check. The astronomy shows at Rowan University’s Edelman Planetarium feature a cosmic chart, projected on a 40-foot overhead dome inside a darkened theater. It shows Earth as an infinitesimal blip in the Milky Way, which itself is just a dot on a vast universal map. Clearly, […]
Today, with so many shopping options available, both brick and mortar as well as online, customers have the luxury of being choosier about which stores are on the receiving end of their hard-won money. No longer do shoppers simply want dish detergent or a perfect fall sweater—very many of them […]
Make a day ahead and pop in the oven on Christmas morning! This recipe is easy to customize. You can change the vegetables, meats, and cheeses to suit your own taste. This recipe appeared in Food is Life in our Winter 2023 issue.